Monthly Archives: July 2014

Getting your name out there as a novelist is a lot of work. The good news about being independent is you get to do what you want. You have the power. The bad news is you need to do the promoting, marketing, strategizing yourself. If you don’t, your book(s) could sink down in the oblivion of the thousand others coming onto the market each day. It takes time from writing, thinking, researching, etc. So enter Bookbub. If you have a book that is established, Bookbub sends out emails to readers from across the board to download your work, but only if it is deeply discounted or free. This is the second time I’ve used Bookbub to promote one of my books – and it ain’t cheap, folks – but I have been very happy with the results. Bookbub probably works best if you have a series, which I do. Two of them, in fact. I have offered the first book of each, The Persephone Cole Vintage Mysteries and the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, for free. The hope is that if the reader likes the first free book, they will go and buy the others at normal cost. I’ve heard of other authors who participate monthly in the free giveaways and have had great success. Some offer their works for free or 99 cents, both for a limited time. I have joined the group. I don’t know if I can do it monthly – have I mentioned this ain’t cheap? – especially if you do a free mystery. That category is at the top of the pay scale, coming in at my yearly shoe allowance. With Amazon’s Kindle now offering Kindle Unlimited as an option for its readers, I have no idea how it will change the Amazon/Bookbub marriage. Kindle Unlimited,…

The Culinary Art of Murder, Book 6 of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, is now available at Amazon!

Blurb:
Lee’s Uncle Tío is smitten with the lady guest chef at a Silicon Valley culinary art institute. When the lady is arrested for two murders, a fellow chef, and the dishwasher, Lee agrees to help find the real killer. But undercover work at the institute proves to be more dangerous than whipping up a chocolate soufflé. Can she find the murderer before her own goose is cooked? If it turns out to be the ambitious southern belle chef, will Tío ever forgive Lee for sending his new lady love to jail?

Honeymoons Can Be Murder is now available for download only at Amazon!

When PI Lee Alvarez goes on her honeymoon with bridegroom, Gurn Hanson, they find a dead woman practically on their doorstep. Kauai breezes may be soft, but there are gale force winds of accusation against Gurn. Will Lee find the real killer before her new hubby gets sent to a Hawaiian hoosegow?

Books

The reviews are in!
Bestthrillers.com - The Culinary Art of Murder "The Bottom Line: This cozy mystery has it all – romance, suspense, comedy and a detective you’ll fall hard for."